Mass Communication Commons^™

Chatting Online: An Ethnographic Case Study Of Educator Discourse On Social Media, Lindsay J. Russell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study sought to examine the online discussions of teachers located in the Southwestern area of the United States regarding social justice issues on social media. Specifically, it looked to discover how educators in this region are attempting to assert agency when faced with socially inequitable situations. Teachers in this region are hired as public employees in a state that penalizes public workers for exhibiting opinions (SRS § 288.260, 1969).

The study utilized Cultural Historical Activity Theory along with Critical Multiculturalism to demonstrate that our present actions are culturally and historically situated while illuminating hegemonic forces. The study found that …

Superhero Tv– Analyzing The Narrative Techniques Of The Cw’S The Flash (2014 - Present) & The Netflix Original Program Daredevil (2015 - 2018), Dasmond R. Mcmillan

Theses and Dissertations

Shaped by contemporary television industry distribution practices and the phenomenon of binge-viewing culture, Netflix introduced its version of narrative storytelling via original drama series that rival traditional linear broadcast network series narratives. This thesis project is a textual analysis that evaluates the separate narrative strategies of two different, but very similar, superhero television drama series that appear on two different distribution platforms. In this thesis, I analyze and compare the Netflix original series Daredevil (2015 – 2018) to The CW series The Flash (2014 – present) to find out if they share any narrative similarities or differences with linear TV …

Social Media, Journalism And Crisis: Twitter Representation Of #Syrianrefugees In Western News Media, Ahmad Khaled Alshallal

Dissertations

Generally, there have been conflicts in the world regarding media coverage especially on #SyrianRefugees in Western media. It is undebatable that the Western states have political stability and peace; thus, they remain better hosts for asylum seekers and other refugees who come in search of greener pastures. However, current trends have hindered such countries from being ideal hubs because citizens have basic fears including those related to national security. Refugee situations have attracted lots of controversies over the years to the point that the concern is evident in the media. This dissertation explores the crisis of Syrian refugees and the …

Book Review: Fact Vs. Fiction: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills In The Age Of Fake News, Morgan Carter

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Fact vs. Fiction: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in the Age of Fake News, is a book full of resources and instructional strategies to help educators teach media literacy skills in today’s fake news environment. Arguably, media literacy skills are needed now more than ever, and this review provides a brief overview and key takeaways from each chapter.

Mediacy: A Way To Enrich Media Literacy, Eva Berger, Robert K. Logan, Anat Ringel, Andrey Miroshnichenko

Journal of Media Literacy Education

We propose that the discipline or practice of media literacy defined as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms can be enriched and made more effective by incorporating two of Marshall McLuhan’s insights into the nature of media. The first insight is that the effects of media that are independent of their content and intended function are subliminal and they are important because they “shape and control the scale and form of human association and action.” The second insight is that the notion of media includes not just communication media but also all …

Abolish Censorship And Adopt Critical Media Literacy: A Proactive Approach To Media And Youth In The Middle East, Abeer Alnajjar

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This paper challenges the dominant patronizing approach to youth and media in the Middle East and argues that the calls for censorship of youth media exposure are obsolete and counterproductive. It argues that although censorship advocates have a legitimate concern over media risks, their approaches are ineffective, short-lived and alienating, disregarding the potential that media hold for young people. The author believes that elites in MENA should shift their focus to empower youth to use media to learn; to voice their worldviews and experiences; and to work for the betterment of themselves and their societies. The paper recommends two strategies:1) …

Professors’ Perspectives On Truth-Seeking And New Literacy, Zachary W. Arth, Darrin J. Griffin, William J. Earnest

Journal of Media Literacy Education

New media and new literacy are essential in our contemporary paradigms of education and communication research. Though truth-seeking is one of the primary objectives inherent in higher education, the process for students may be less clear than it may be for trained academics or professors. The current study sought to explore how professors recommend that students seek truth in the information age. Relying on an assignment from a communication course, this study examined responses from student-led interviews with professors from across the U.S. and categorized trends in their recommendations for students. Overall twelve themes taken from advice on student truth-seeking …

Piloting Journalistic Learning In A Rural Trump-Supportive Community: A Reverse Mentorship Approach, Ed Madison

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Partisan politics challenge educators to determine how best to navigate discussions of controversial subjects within their classrooms. This can be particularly true for new educators in the early stages of developing their confidence and classroom management skills. This qualitative case study uses situated learning and the communities of practice theoretical constructs to investigate a new approach to educator training and co-facilitation. The new approach places recent journalism school college graduates in classrooms alongside teachers to foster real-time professional development through a process best described as reverse mentoring. The model could potentially provide educators with new pedagogical strategies during divisive political …

History Of Youth Media Production In Maine 1960-2010, Gemma A.P. Scott

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Research in media literacy seeks to understand multiple branches of inquiry, including the practice of media production. Youth in Maine have produced media independently and in organized venues for more than 50 years. This paper describes results from surveying primary source materials produced by youth in Maine between 1960 and the 2000s. Research started with media artifacts, looking to primary source materials to understand what, if anything, can be revealed from their content. A deep dive into the provenance of archival collections uncovered stories of a local history of youth media production, and expanded the inquiry to identify who was …

News Literacy And Fake News Curriculum: School Librarians’ Perceptions Of Pedagogical Practices, Lesley Farmer

Journal of Media Literacy Education

The high profile of fake news reveals underlying trends in the production and consumption of news. While news literacy is a lifelong skill, the logical time to start teaching such literacy is in K-12 educational settings, so that all people have the opportunity to learn and practice news literacy. School librarians can play a critical role in helping students gain news literacy competence. This study investigated the needs for K-12 students to be news literate and their current level of skills as perceived by in-service teachers and school librarians in California. Respondents thought that their students were most competent at …

Twitter Activity Of Urban And Rural Colleges: A Sentiment Analysis Using The Dialogic Loop, Eugene H. Pons

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the present study is to ascertain if colleges are achieving their ultimate communication goals of maintaining and attracting students through their microblogging activity, which according to Dialogic Loop Theory, is directly correlated to the use of positive and negative sentiment. The study focused on a cross-section of urban and rural community colleges within the United States to identify the sentiment score of their microblogging activity. The study included a content analysis on the Twitter activity of these colleges. A data-mining process was employed to collect a census of the tweets associated with these colleges. Further processing was …

A Pilot Qualitative Case Study Of Agricultural And Natural Resources Scientists’ Twitter Usage For Engaging Public Audiences, Jamie Loizzo, Catherine Jones, Abby Steffen

Journal of Applied Communications

Scientists are frequently asked to broadly share their expertise and research with a variety of audiences, beyond typical academic circles in their home disciplines. That could include developing community engagement programs, school outreach, leveraging online social networks, and other activities. The purpose of this study was to examine U.S. agricultural and natural resources (ANR) scientists’ typical science communication channels, their experiences utilizing Twitter for sharing their knowledge, research, and engaging in online public science discussion. Diffusion of Innovations theory and the model of science in-reach versus outreach guided this study. Researchers used a qualitative case study design. Data collection included …

Digital Addiction: A Conceptual Overview, Amarjit Kumar Singh, Pawan Kumar Singh

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Abstract

Digital addiction referred to an impulse control disorder that involves the obsessive use of digital devices, digital technologies, and digital platforms, i.e. internet, video game, online platforms, mobile devices, digital gadgets, and social network platform. It is an emerging domain of Cyberpsychology (Singh, Amarjit Kumar and Pawan Kumar Singh; 2019), which explore a problematic usage of digital media, device, and platforms by being obsessive and excessive. This article analyses, reviewed the current research, and established a conceptual overview on the digital addiction. The research literature on digital addiction has proliferated. However, we tried to categories the digital addiction, according …

Reading Mediations: Modeling Online Critical Literacy Strategies, Lisa Hirschfield

Open Educational Resources

Reading Mediations is an interactive, web-based guide for teaching and learning critical online reading skills. Best used with high school or college students, it includes a selection of critical reading tools and verification resources, guided readings, and structured learning activities. It also presents opportunities for independent exploration and critique of the online news and information ecosystem, with live content provided through Twitter and several news websites.

The guiding principle of Reading Mediations is that the epidemic of misinformation, propaganda, and poor journalism online cannot be eradicated by fact-checking tools alone. It must begin with us, the readers. Learning first about …

Cyberbullying And Teenage Mental Health, Emma Renfro, Melony Shemberger

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Abstract Cyberbullying is something that is becoming prevalent in today’s digital society. It is something that impacts more than one age group, but the primary age group seems to be aged 13-18. As a society, it is recognized that cyberbullying happens. However, how often does one stop to think deeper? In this research, I will approach cyberbullying from a mental health standpoint. I will demonstrate things such as why certain demographics are more susceptible to the impact of cyberbullying, what mental illnesses are caused by cyberbullying, and present statistics that, hopefully, motivate people to begin to combat this issue. Over …

The Complex Relationship Between Celebrity-Driven Magazines And Depictions Of Fertility At Advanced Reproductive Ages, Brennan Peterson

Marriage and Family Therapy Faculty Articles and Research

"In this issue of the Journal of Women’s Health, Willson and colleagues explore how age and fertility are portrayed in celebrity-driven magazines.¹ Specifically, they examine if popular media depictions of celebrity pregnancies present accurate information related to age and fertility, the use of assisted reproductive technology (ARTs), and pregnancy-related risks associated with advanced maternal age (AMA >35 years). Their study provides an important viewpoint related to the impact of media on reproductive perceptions, and its potential intersection with delayed childbearing, fertility awareness, and reproductive decision making."

#Bolivia: Trascendiendo Las Fronteras De La Participación Social Y Política A Través De Los Hashtags, Azella Markgraf

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En los últimos años, el uso masivo de los medios de comunicación a través del internet ha cambiado irrevocablemente las formas de socialización y participación pública de la humanidad. Con la existencia de las redes sociales como Facebook y Twitter, los discursos políticos que hace unas décadas hubieran sido restringido por las fronteras materiales ahora se extienden a nivel mundial. Siguiendo la elección nacional de Bolivia el 20 de octubre de 2019, el hashtag #Bolivia se viralizó mientras personas de todas partes del mundo iban discutiendo lo que pasaba en el país. En el presente estudio, observo y analizo el …

The Alt-Right's Use Of President Donald Trump's Twitter Account As A Propaganda Device, Erin Nicole Jorden

Erin Jorden

The long campaign to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act situated President Donald J. Trump in a context where attacks on President Barack Obama’s signature legislation symbolized a broader repudiation of his legacy. Even more than mainstream Republican partisans, the altright blogosphere celebrated the demise of the law to symbolically cleanse the nation of Obama’s influence. Trump attempted to honor his pledge to end Obamacare in his first year of office with his support of the American Health Care Act (March 2017), Better Care Reconciliation Act (July 2017), and the Graham-Cassidy Bill (September 2017). Members of the alt-right reframed …

Government Responses To Disinformation On Social Media Platforms: Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, European Union, France, Germany, India, Israel, Mexico, Russian Federation, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Ruth Levush

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Comparative Summary by Ruth Levush, Senior Foreign Law Specialist, Law Library of Congress, Global Legal Research Directorate

Concerns regarding the impact of viral dissemination of disinformation on democratic systems of government, on political discourse, on public trust in state institutions, and on social harmony have been expressed by many around the world. These concerns are shared by countries with advanced economies as well as those with emerging and developing economies.

The term “disinformation” as used in this report refers to “false information deliberately and often covertly spread . . . in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth.” …

Teaching Adolescents To Communicate (Better) Online: Best Practices From A Middle School Classroom, Michelle Ciccone

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Digital conversation spaces have the potential to generate powerful collective intelligence, but only when users are thoughtful, reflective, and have experience interacting with diverse ideas. To be able to engage in online conversational spaces in this way, though, is not inherent or natural: it must be practiced. This article will argue that it is essential to have adolescents practice engaging in challenging and professional conversations online with peers in classroom settings. Utilizing a New Media Literacy framework, this article will share impactful classroom practices that help adolescents develop effective online conversation skills. Essential to this pedagogy is a cycle of …

Measuring Media Literacy Inquiry In Higher Education: Innovation In Assessment, Evelien Schilder, Theresa Redmond

Journal of Media Literacy Education

The ability to critically access, analyze, evaluate, and create media messages is crucial in the process of becoming an informed and engaged citizen throughout life. Asking critical questions is not only a valuable dimension of media literacy, but also an indispensable aspect of participating in a democracy. Yet, measuring the effectiveness of media literacy is still a major challenge for the field. It is unclear to what extent people of all ages may engage in critical questioning habits with regards to media. To address this gap, we studied the changes in critical questioning habits for college-aged students enrolled in media …

Story Sharing In A Digital Space To Counter Othering And Foster Belonging And Curiosity Among College Students, Gina Baleria

Journal of Media Literacy Education

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to discover how a single, relational intervention in a digital space focused on civil, respectful conversation across difference might influence digital media literacy (DML) among college students, with the goal of increasing college students’ sense of belonging and level of curiosity. The researcher used a phenomenological approach, exploring and describing the lived experiences of students who participated in a micro-engagement with an other through interviews (Creswell, 2014). This study investigated the main question: (a) How does a semi-structured, relational micro-intervention focused on civil, respectful conversation across difference influence college students’ sense of …

Media Literacy Education In The Age Of Machine Learning, Teemu Valtonen, Matti Tedre, Kati Mäkitalo, Henriikka Vartiainen

Journal of Media Literacy Education

The media environment has radically changed over the past few decades. Transition and transformation of media platforms has enabled algorithms and automation to take over media processes such as production, content generation, curation, delivery, recommendation, and filtering of information. It has also enabled tracking of users’ actions, data mining, profiling, and the use of computational and machine learning techniques for purposes like behavior engineering, targeted advertisement, spread of mis- and disinformation, swaying political moods, and many others. In the field of media literacy education, the need to understand algorithm-driven media requires educators to re-think the connections between media literacy education …

Media Literacy Education For All Ages, Päivi Rasi, Hanna Vuojärvi, Heli Ruokamo

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This special issue of the Journal of Media Literacy Education explores the role of media literacy across the lifespan. Media literacy education interventions must be designed to meet the needs of individuals of different ages by understanding the life roles and goals that they have across the lifespan. Different pedagogical strategies are required to effectively address the media literacy competencies of young children, teens, adults, parents, and older adults. In old age, media literacy education may support cognitive functioning and social relationships and help people critically assess health-related information and services. Adopting a life course perspective enables the examination of …

Revisiting Stremii: Social Media Crisis Communication During Hurricane Matthew, Margaret C. Stewart, Cory Young

Margaret Stewart

Social media platforms influence the flow of information and technologically mediated communication during a storm. In 2015, Stewart and Wilson introduced the STREMII (pronounced STREAM-ee) as a six-phase model for social media crisis communication in an eff ort to assist institutions and organizations during unanticipated events, using the crisis of Hurricane Sandy as an applied example. Since the inception of the model, several advancements in social media strategy have revealed the opportunity for further development. This current work presents a revision of the original model, emphasizing the need for ongoing social listening and engagement with target audiences. These aspects of …

The Influence Of Self-Generated And Third-Party Claims Online: Perceived Self-Interest As An Explanatory Mechanism, David C. Deandrea, Megan A. Vendemia

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Over the past two decades, communication technology scholars have examined how viewers evaluate the authenticity of information online, with particular attention given to how self versus third-party claims differ in their degree of influence. We examine how self-interest perceptions serve an important explanatory function in the logic of warranting theory and help account for how people evaluate content online. Our results document how the source and valence of a message can interact to affect perceptions of source self-interest, which, in turn, affect perceptions of source trustworthiness, message accuracy, and, ultimately, evaluations of an online target. The findings establish boundary conditions …

Media Discourses That Normalize Colonial Relations: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of (Im)Migrants And Refugees, Meng Zhao, Jorge Rodriguez, Lilia D. Monzó

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The im(migration) and refugee crisis that are being exacerbated under the Trump administration, is a manifestation of empire-building and the long history of colonization of the Global South. A Marxist-humanist perspective recognizes these as consistent aspects of a clearly racist global capitalism that functions in the interest of multibillion dollar U.S.–based corporations and increasingly transnational corporations. Trade agreements, international economic policy, political intervention, invasion or the threat of these, often secure corporate interests in specific countries and regions. The authors use critical discourse analysis to examine the discourses around Mexican, Central American, and Syrian im(migrants) and refugees as examples of …

Mitigating Colluding Attacks In Online Social Networks And Crowdsourcing Platforms, Georges Arsene K. Kamhoua

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Online Social Networks (OSNs) have created new ways for people to communicate, and for companies to engage their customers -- with these new avenues for communication come new vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers. This dissertation aims to investigate two attack models: Identity Clone Attacks (ICA) and Reconnaissance Attacks (RA). During an ICA, attackers impersonate users in a network and attempt to infiltrate social circles and extract confidential information. In an RA, attackers gather information on a target's resources, employees, and relationships with other entities over public venues such as OSNs and company websites. This was made easier for …

Can Cooler Heads Prevail? New Media Technology And Affective Polarization, Brian Kendall Watson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Are new media technologies stirring up negative partisan feelings in the American public? Can researchers find ways of using new media tools to reduce affective polarization? Relying on a series of experiments featuring online newsfeeds and social media discussions, this dissertation seeks to answer these questions by testing the influence of partisan news and political discussions in realistic Internet environments. Two custom news “portals” (2016, 2018) expose participants to actual partisan news content. Two Facebook discussion experiments (2017, 2019) randomly assign participants to start real political discussions on their personal social media accounts, using discussion-initiation strategies designed to reduce partisan …

A Meta-Analytic Examination Of The Continued Influence Of Misinformation In The Face Of Correction: How Powerful Is It, Why Does It Happen, And How To Stop It?, Nathan Walter, Riva Tukachinsky

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the extent of continued influence of misinformation in the face of correction and the theoretical explanations of this phenomenon. Aggregation of results from 32 studies (N = 6,527) revealed that, on average, correction does not entirely eliminate the effect of misinformation (r = –.05, p = .045). Corrective messages were found to be more successful when they are coherent, consistent with the audience’s worldview, and delivered by the source of the misinformation itself. Corrections are less effective if the misinformation was attributed to a credible source, the misinformation has been repeated multiple …